Western Undergraduate Exchange

Western Undergraduate Exchange 

Western GRADUATE school Exchange

Western Professional Health Care Career & Sciences Exchange

Overview: WUE (pronounced “woo-wee”) is a regional tuition-reciprocity agreement that enables students from US Western states to enroll at participating two- and four-year public institutions at reduced tuition. 

The WUE program offered at 150+ institutions have some similarities among all and many variations causing confusion and misunderstandings. 

Notes ● Western Undergraduate Exchange - regionally based tuition reciprocity at two and four year public colleges in Western states ○ Up to 150% of resident tuition rates (tuition might be cheaper than Oregon tuition rates) ■ Note: doesn’t include fees, housing/dining, books/supplies, transportation ○ 160 participating institutions (86 four year colleges) 

Housing and dorm costs: - Please keep in mind that dorms and housing can be cheaper out of state!

Each college sets their qualifications to get WUE and it changes year to year. 

How to get WUE ■ Be admitted ■ Meet the qualifications ■ Be applying for a degree program that is eligible - not all colleges have WUE for all majors ■ Apply for WUE (if necessary - some colleges don’t require the separate application) ■ Some colleges require the FAFSA to qualify. 

Note: students may be admitted to school but not receive the WUE rate. But some colleges (NAU!) offer WUE to all admitted students from qualifying states. ○ Students cannot use time on WUE tuition to establish residency (a student using WUE is a resident of their home state) ○ Most are automatically renewable and capped at 4 years 

Oregon State University (WUE not applicable to Oregon state residents) ○ Largest university in Oregon ○ One of three Land, Sea, and Sun grant universities ○ Traditional college town - one of America’s smartest, safest small towns ○ 200+ academic programs and zero impacted majors ○ Students are automatically reviewed for WUE, quite competitive (30% of all admitted students from eligible states were awarded WUE from the last admissions cycle) ○ Provost scholarships are available for students who do not qualify for WUE ○ Holistic review, test optional (but they really don’t consider them)  

University of Nevada, Reno ○ 17,000 undergraduates ○ 3 hours from San Francisco Bay, 45 min from Lake Tahoe. All four seasons, outdoors activities - great for outdoorsy kids. Reno is quickly growing and affordable. ○ R1 Research institution with only 3,000 graduate students, so a great place for undergraduates to get research experience ○ About 200 majors available, none impacted. ○ Popular majors: engineering, business, sciences, liberal arts, education ○ 3.5 average GPA for admission (3.0 or above automatic admission) ○ WUE ■ 3.25 automatic admission ■ Automatically reviewed for both ■ They stack scholarships on top of WUE.  

University of Utah ○ Salt Lake City. Backyard faces the mountains, the front yard faces downtown. Much more college town vibe than a big city vibe. Near 7 ski resorts, access to 5 national parks ○ 24,000 undergraduates ○ 43% of students are not from Utah ○ No majors impacted ○ Popular majors: business, engineering. BS in gaming is big. ○ WUE ■ No cap to WUE scholarships ■ All majors included ■ If a student applies by December 1st and has a 3.3 GPA, you automatically receive WUE ■ Estimated cost of attendance: in state 23K, WUE 27K, out of state 46K 

Northern Arizona University ○ Flagstaff, AZ - 7000 feet elevation. 2 hours north of Phoenix. 1.5 hours south of Grand Canyon, 45 min from Sedona. All four seasons, average yearly snowfall: 80 inches, days of sunshine: 264, days above 100 degrees: zero! Great skiing - 15 miles from the Snow Bowl. 11 national parks/monuments within 3 hours. ○ Known for construction management, interior design, biomedical sciences, engineering ○ Consider unweighted core GPA ○ App opens in July! ○ WUE ■ Automatic upon admission ■ All majors ■ No minimum GPA ■ No cap or deadline ■ WUE tuition rate: $16,536 ■ In addition to WUE, they give academic awards based on GPA. Below 3.0: $2500, 3.0-3.49: $5000, 3.5-4.0: $6000 

Main Takeaways: 1. Each participating institution sets its own qualifications for WUE but a great, affordable option for students in Western states! 

Credit: Gary K Bednorz, College Click Betsie Rugg-Stassen, Northern Arizona University Brandon Gonzales, University of Utah Linda M Dannemiller, University of Nevada, Reno Kelly Pjesky, Oregon State University Dianne Hurtado, Northern Arizona University Session